Dental Hygiene Program
Dental Hygiene Fact Sheet
Registered Dental Hygienists are licensed important members of the dental care team who use their knowledge and clinical skills to provide direct patient care. Strong interpersonal skills are necessary to motivate and educate patients on methods to prevent oral disease and to maintain oral health. If you enjoy helping people, working with your hands as well as your mind, and are interested in improving oral health, Dental Hygiene may be for you!
Job Description/Duties
- Generally work with dentists to create comprehensive care plan and work collaboratively to meet oral needs of patients
- Provide dental health and nutritional education for individuals and groups
- Perform oral cancer screening
- Examine periodontal (gum and bone) structure around and supporting teeth
- Expose and interpret radiographs
- Scaling and root planing
- Administer local anesthetic/ nitrous oxide sedation
- Administer topical fluoride treatments
- Place sealants
Employment Opportunities
- Full time and part time
- Private practice
- Public health/ consumer advocate
- Teaching/administration
- Research
- Legislative advocate
- Corporate representative
- General and specialty practices
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Public health clinics
- Schools
Salary and Benefits
- Varies depending upon responsibilities and geographic location
- Benefit packages may be provided through employer and/or as a member of the American Dental Hygienists' Association
Lifestyle
- Very portable profession
- Prestige–highly skilled discipline
- Variety–work with diverse individuals/groups, children, elderly, medically compromised, dental compromised
- Creativity–educating/motivating diverse cultures
- Flexibility–full/part time available in variety of settings–mix and match to fit your lifestyle and goals
- Security employment opportunities readily available year round
Career Development
- Life-long learning is an essential component for knowledge and required for re-licensure.
- Local and national opportunities for professional development
- Bachelor and Master online degree completion programs available
- Articulation agreements with some colleges or universities accept completed general education and DH courses
Education/Licensing Requirements
- A minimum 2-year education once accepted into TMCC's dental hygiene program
- Dental hygiene degree requires specific prerequisites for admission eligibility
Technical Standards
The prospective dental hygiene student must have the following capabilities:
- Good hand/eye coordination and dexterity for instrumentation skills necessary for direct patient care
- A current Health Care Provider CPR card.
- Be free from health conditions which put others at risk
Program Prerequisites
Please note: As of fall 2012, dental hygiene applicants will be limited to repeating program prerequisite courses (sciences) once. This means students will take the course for the first time, and may repeat the same course once. Proof will be required with the application in the form of transcripts or DARS.
Must be completed prior to submitting an application:
- Biology 223
- Biology 224
- Biology 251
- Chemistry 220
- COM 113
Twelve (12) credits of science are also included as the science requirements for the A.S. degree.
General Education (GE) Courses
All GE courses strongly recommended to be completed prior to submitting an application.
- Diversity* (3 credits)
- English (6 credits); required: ENG 101 & ENG 102
- Fine Arts* (3 credits); recommended: ART 270 (meets Diversity requirement)
- Humanities (3 credits); required: PHIL 135
- Mathematics (6 credits); required: MATH 126 & STATS 152 (or higher math)
- Social Science (6 credits); required: SOC 101, PSY 101
- U.S. & NV Constitutions* (3 credits); recommended: PSC 101
* see TMCC Course Catalog for choices
Program Costs
Approximately $11,000 (subject to change). Fees associated with national and state exams cannot be determined and are over and above the program costs.
Examination and Licensure
All states require that dental hygienists be licensed. In addition to successfully graduating from an accredited dental hygiene program and passing the written Dental Hygiene National Board Examination, graduates must pass the NV State Clinical Board or Western Regional Board Examination (WREB) in order to practice dental hygiene in Nevada.
The Nevada Dental Practice Act (NRS631.290) requires that candidates for licensure be of good moral character and be citizens of the U.S. or lawfully entitled to remain and work in the U.S. Prospective students are advised that if they have a felony or misdemeanor convictions or have a history of substance abuse or infectious disease that this my preclude subsequent licensure as a dental hygienist in Nevada (NAC 631.050)
Program Requirements
| DH 102 | Oral Biology | 4 Credits |
| DH 103 | Head and Neck Anatomy | 2 Credits |
| DH 104 | Dental Hygiene I | 3 Credits |
| DH 105 | Intro to Clinical Practice | 2 Credits |
| DH 107 | Legal and Ethical Implications in Dental Hygiene | 1 Credits |
| DH 110 | Concepts of Oral Health | 2 Credits |
| DH 112 | Oral Radiology | 3 Credits |
| DH 113 | General and Oral Pathology | 3 Credits |
| DH 115 | Clinical Practice I | 3 Credits |
| DH 118 | Advanced Clinical Topics in Dental Hygiene | 2 Credits |
| DH 120 | Fundamentals of Nutrition in Dentistry | 3 Credits |
| DH 202 | Pharmacology | 2 Credits |
| DH 203 | Special Patients | 2 Credits |
| DH 205 | Clinical Practice II | 5 Credits |
| DH 207 | Periodontics I | 2 Credits |
| DH 208 | Community Dental Health I | 2 Credits |
| DH 209 | Pain and Anxiety Control | 3 Credits |
| DH 211 | Dental Materials and Techniques for Dental Hygienists | 2 Credits |
| DH 214 | Periodontics II | 1 Credits |
| DH 215 | Clinical Practice III | 5 Credits |
| DH 216 | Principles of Dental Practice | 1 Credits |
| DH 218 | Community Dental Health II | 2 Credits |
| 55 Credits in Dental Hygiene | ||
| DH 299 | Skills Lab | 1 credit pass/fail required each semester |

